The Government’s budget deficit topped €13.3 billion at the end of November but tax receipts for the year now stand at €29.5 billion, €470 million or 1.6 per cent ahead of targets.
November is traditionally the month of the year with the largest tax take and, with the exception of income tax, all categories of tax are ahead of targets for the year-to-date, according to exchequer figures released by the Department of Finance this afternoon.
The deficit stood at €22.1 billion at the same time last year, but this figure included one-off payments of €4 billion to Anglo Irish Bank and €3 billion to the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) which were not repeated this year.
The Government's tax income is €1.3 billion or 4.1 per cent less than at the end of November 2009. Capital gains tax is the category which has seen the largest annual drop – down 41.3 per cent to €165 million from the November 2009 figure.
In a note accompanying the release, the Department of Finance said a corporation tax surplus of €589 million, combined with smaller surpluses in other categories including excise duties and VAT, had offset the income tax shortfall of €356 million.
Despite the unemployment rate running at 13.5 per cent, income tax from the self-employed in November "performed better than expected", the department said. Self-employed workers must pay their annual tax bill in November if using Revenue's online filing service.
The strong performance in self-employed tax receipts was offset by PAYE tax receipts falling below target.
Fine Gael's finance spokesman Michael Noonan said the figures exposed a deep divide in Irish society.
"On one side, the multinational sector and large companies are enjoying a moderate resurgence," said Mr Noonan. "But large numbers of Irish families have been stranded on the other side of this divide. The income tax take revealed in the latest Exchequer figures has again come in under target, with a shortfall of 3.3 per cent for the month."
Total Government spending in the year to the end of November was €40.8 billion, €1.8 billion or 4.2 per cent less than for the same period in 2009.
The accounts show that the State has borrowed €29.1 billion to date this year.
"It is a positive that the government finances targets are being achieved and highlights that the underlying deficit targets in the four-year plan are achievable," NCB chief economist Brian Devine wrote in a note to clients. "The problem of course being the extra costs being saddled on the sovereign as a result of the banking crisis."
Ibec chief economist Fergal O'Brien said the "main positive" was the strong performance of corporation tax which "has more than compensated for the shortfall in income tax and in other areas".